Behold The Fish
by death-in-the-orchard
Summary: Alucard during Abraham Van Hellsing's time. The demon meets Hellsing's aquatic pet.


The plain bowl filled with water held nothing that could excite the demon whose chin rested on a pair of white hands on the edge of a desk. Where two glowing red orbs reflected in the glass, the mindless gaping eyes of a goldfish stared at the vampire, seeing a distorted nose and scrunched up and widened version of the demon's face. Fishy lips opened and closed occasionally in the semblance, and with the same amount of intelligence, of a cow chewing its cud. A wholly stupid creature, Alucard concluded upon observing the fish for some odd minutes, rarely blinking at the bowl's dull tenant.

The vampire faded from the room, whereupon the fish remained suspended in the water, its position never changing so that when Alucard returned the fish was ready to continue their exchange of stares.

The fish swallowed water, its tail and fins moving ever so slightly from time to time in the mostly still water, swaying with the ripples that came when an undead touch transferred motion through the glass. And still the fish stared as movement brought about change a short distance from its face, but the creature had no will or power to think or create an opinion on what the vampire was doing.

Then Alucard faded once again from the room, vacating his master's office and leaving the goldfish to its monotonous life in a bowl on Abraham Van Hellsing's desk. This time the vampire did not return.

Hours passed, bringing no change to the fish though the sun crept over the spiked treetops. Rising with the dawning day, Hellsing woke in his bedroom and proceeded to dress and make his way to his office. In entering the room, he drew back the curtains to let in the natural light, bypassing his desk and goldfish for the first few minutes he worried the curtains and determined that the outsides of the windows needed to be cleaned. The man turned to his desk, placed his weight in his chair, and murmured to himself in a low tone that filled the room like a sigh while he pulled open a drawer to retrieve his schedule where he would jot down the note concerning the maintenance of his mansion. When this short task was completed and a hand turned a leaf in the leather booklet, an unattractive and out of place black smear was sited near his goldfish. Lifting his eyes to better focus on the freak detail, Hellsing frowned at what he took to be moss or some other growing substance in the glass bowl.

That will need to be cleaned as well. He let out a long breath, allowing his eyes to linger on the bowl as he prepared himself to take on the mountain of duties he would have to see to that day. But slowly his brow lowered, his eyes creasing as he squinted at the smear, seeing the tail end of his fish while examining the bowl.

The man pushed himself up out of his chair and gradually made his way around the side of his desk, keeping his eyes trained on the fish bowl. Once he stood in front of the bowl, looking down, his frown deepened with displeasure and confusion at the ink that had been scribbled on the previously flawless glass. Bending down to get a closer look, Van Hellsing's brow wrinkled and his lips parted with a mutter.

"Now what is this?" His brow slowly flattened itself and his lips tweaked into a peculiar smile. He had to chuckle at the drawing that perfectly fitted the fish's features, contributing to them like a mask. A large, menacing glare coupled with a crude arrangement of blade-like teeth had transformed the dull little fish into a sea monster pulled forth from the very bowels of a myth or whispered legend. Spikes were added along the fish's spine, with the addition of claws and tentacles branching from the fish's fins and torso. And, as if altering the fish was not enough and further vandalism of the glass bowl was necessary, the anonymous delinquent had gone on to draw a very voluptuous and immodest companion for the lonely fish, in the form of a mermaid that could hardly be likened to any _maiden _on land.

Finally an amusing message straightened Hellsing and sent him chuckling to one of his shelves where he returned to the bowl with a container of fish food, heeding the 'MASTER, YOUR MONSTER WISHES TO BE FED A VIRGINAL SACRIFICE' by sprinkling some of the food on the surface of the water.

The goldfish, noticing the food, drifted up to the bobbing flakes and proceeded to swallow them whole, entertaining Hellsing for the minute or two he spent watching the fish with a humored grin.


End file.
